Little Blue Notebook
by butterchicken
Summary: Ash and Johnny have been dating for a bit. When they have to perform an original song for an upcoming show, Johnny finds a book of Ash's darker songs and gets the wrong idea


Little Blue Notebook

A/N: Ok, I am a little nervous with this one; I haven't seen Sing since it came out in theaters, and it's my first Sing fanfiction, so I my have one or two characters act OOC. Also, there are song lyrics, HOWEVER, before you go haywire and start reporting me, these are lyrics to songs I wrote, and therefor are my property, so I'm not breaking any rules. All that out of the way, enjoy.

Years had passed since that first concert in the ruins of what was once a theater, and ever since it was rebuilt, and bought by Nana Noodleman, Buster Moon decided that, since he had six talented performers, he was going to make a monthly thing where they each chose a song that best suited themselves, and the final Friday of each month, the talent would come together and do a live performance.

Usually, one show alone racked up at least one hundred grand, and Nana Noodleman would give the workers a small fortune each, while using the rest to pay for utilities.

Over the years, the talent had gotten closer, and changed significantly:

Meena had broken out of her shell and was even standing up for herself against Mike

Mike on the other hand, once he was saved by the mobsters, had been mentally scarred by the incident, so while he was still snarky to the others, it was more playful than malicious.

Rosita had decided to make Gunter her children's honorary uncle.

Ash no longer refused to let Lance's betrayal sully her views on other men and relationships. In fact, she found comfort in Johnny's arms and it wasn't long before they were in a serious relationship.

Now, in present times, another monthly concert was approaching, and Ash and Johnny had gotten permission to sing a duet together, as long as it showcased both of their talents. It had been decided they would sing a duet of one of Ash's songs, while Johnny played piano and Ash played guitar.

The only thing left to do was to choose the song...

*knock knock*

"Coming!" Ash called out.

She slipped a blue notebook under her bookcase and headed downstairs.

Throwing open the door, she saw Johnny standing in the doorway, hands in his pocket, that adorable, shy look on his face.

"Hey, Johnny. Come on in."

Johnny smiled and headed inside.

For the millionth time in his relationship, he still couldn't believe the porcupine he had loved since the first meeting loved him in return.

"Johnny?"

"Yes?"

"Want something to drink?" Ash asked, opening the fridge.

"Whatever you're having." Johnny replied.

Ash poured both of them some water and squeezed a lemon into both of them.

"So... have you thought of our song?" Johnny asked.

Ash shook her head. "See, I've written countless songs, it's hard to choose just one. I figured we could look through them together, and choose then."

"Sounds great." Johnny replied.

They finished their drinks and Ash took him upstairs to her room.

It was the first time Johnny had been in her room, and he couldn't help but smile. It was so... Ash: cherry red walls, Multiple guitars, three towers filled with CDs and a whole bookcase filled with notebooks and sheet music.

"Take a seat." Ash smiled, gesturing around.

Johnny headed in and plunked down on her bed.

Ash pulled out some notebooks and handed them to Johnny. Sitting next to him, she picked one up and started leafing through the pages.

Johnny put his arm around her and looked through another one.

To him, this moment was perfect. Even though they were working, just knowing his girlfriend was by his side, and loved him, even after every little goof up he did, made him feel so happy, he didn't even mind the quills in his arm.

Looking through the songs, he laughed. There were some pages torn out, which he could only guess were either songs she regretted, collaborations with Lance, or songs she couldn't finish and the songs had such varying lyrics. Some were kind of bubble-gummy, and not songs he would expect from her, while others were more robust.

After a few hours, they still couldn't find a song they both agreed on, and it was getting late.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Ash asked, putting another book away.

"Okay, if you'd like me too..."

Ash grinned.

"Of course. I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't want you to." She headed over to Johnny. "Is Thai okay?"

Johnny nodded. "Yeah. Ordering from the usual place?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Having the usual?"

Johnny nodded again and handed her a couple bills. "It's for my share." He explained.

Ash smiled and kissed her boyfriend before heading to the door.

"You can keep looking if you'd like." Ash added before leaving.

Johnny went to put the notebook away, but in his haste, dropped it.

As he bent down to pick it up, his eye fell on a little blue notebook that was tossed under the bookcase.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he reached underneath to fish it out. It wasn't too dusty, and looked rather new, or very well taken care of.

On the cover, in Ash's sloppy handwriting, the words "True Heart" were scribbled on the cover.

Opening the book to the first page, the first set of lyrics made his eyes widen:

 _"He says that I'm too sour_

 _He says that I'm too sweet_

 _He says his things to cut me down_

 _and make me lose my feet_

 _He leaves me alone in the dark_

 _and I'll never be okay_

 _but I never seem to learn_

 _And I'm back Friday"_

Johnny shook his head and flipped through the book, each page sending another pang through the heart.

 _"He opens up to me_

 _and everything I see_

 _is hopelessly grim_

 _but I'm more drawn to him_

 _then he'll no longer grieve_

 _and he'll leave_

 _after throwing me against the wall_

 _I'm his cushion for his fall"_

Finally, Johnny got to the last song. He knew he shouldn't read it, the other songs were brutal enough, but he was a glutton for punishment. Taking a deep breath, he began to read:

 _"We're standing in the dust_

 _as what we had begins to rust_

 _you become a shadow of what I love_

 _I linger in the doorway_

 _your body tells me 'Go away'_

 _You're ripping the wings off a dove_

 _a hole gets pierced in my heart_

 _that you can't see_

 _but Baby_

 _I'm falling through the cracks_

 _when you pretend I'm not there_

 _I die a little inside_

 _with every nasty stare_

 _once you said 'forever'_

 _but it feels like we're through_

 _Am I really loved by you?"_

Johnny, hands trembling, dropped the book.

"You stupid idiot..." he whispered to himself.

Even though there was no indication, Johnny couldn't help but feel he let her down.

"You're supposed to be her boyfriend..." He grumbled, "But you obviously failed at that!"

He sadly sunk to the floor and hid his face in his hands.

Downstairs, he could hear the doorbell ring, and could smell his dinner, but he had lost his appetite.

"Johnny?" Ash began, entering her room.

Upon seeing her boyfriend curled up in a ball, she was by his side in a flash.

"Johnny?" Ash began, resting her hands on his arm, "What's wrong?"

Johnny looked up, his eyes showing heartache and the feeling of loss.

"Ash..." He began. "Have I failed you?"

Ash was taken aback. "Failed me? Of course not!"

Johnny gave her a look of disbelief. "I've failed many people..." He began. "I even failed my whole family, it's only natural I would fail my girlfriend too."

Ash shook her head. "Johnny. I promise you. I've been failed by many people in the past. You definitely have NOT failed me! Why would you..." Then she noticed her blue notebook lying on the ground. "Ah... I see..."

Heading over, she picked up the notebook and slid it back in its hiding place.

"Why did you write that last song?" Johnny asked, looking up at her.

Ash headed over to her boyfriend and sat next to him. Reaching over, she gently took his hand in hers.

"Before I explain, there's one thing I must make very clear." Johnny looked at the porcupine in surprise.

"None of those songs were about you. In fact, I haven't written in this book in years."

"But why all these songs?"

Ash looked over to her boyfriend. "When I was dating Lance, around the time things started to crumble, I needed to find a way to keep my sanity so I didn't do anything drastic. After a rather horrific date, I was listening to music, when I realized, if I wrote my feelings on paper, maybe I would feel better. It was kind of like... my musical diary."

"There was twenty songs..." Johnny replied.

"Yeah... We've had a lot of bumps..." Ash replied, pulling her knees to her chest.

Johnny let go of her hand and pulled her close to him. "But... you're sure I wasn't ANY inspiration for any of those songs?"

Ash looked up and Johnny could have sworn he saw a trace of a blush through her fur.

"Johnny..." she began, "You're the best boyfriend a porcupine could ever have."

"Even though I'm a gorilla?" Johnny joked.

Ash laughed in reply "You could be a fruit fly and still be an amazing boyfriend."

Johnny leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back as he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her.

Once they broke apart, they gently rested their foreheads against each other's.

"Come on, dinner's going to her cold." Ash replied, taking Johnny's hand as the two headed downstairs.

They couldn't find an original song in the huge collection that was Ash's songs, so Ash wound up writing a duet for both of them that was easy for both piano and guitar.

The big night, as they sang, the crowd was cheering.

Johnny gulped as he saw his dad in the audience.

His dad looked back and mouthed "I'm proud of you." before quickly donning a wig when a cop walked by.

Ash noticed Lance and Becky were in the crowd, but she couldn't help but notice that they didn't seem as happy as before and Becky was holding a baby that was clearly hybrid.

Looking away, she turned to face Johnny as they sang their final lines together:

 _"let's just run away tonight_

 _you and me, and the sky_

 _hold me tight so we can fly_

 _fly so high_

 _and never come down"_


End file.
